Should you buy the new MacBook Air?

Apple released the new MacBook on 18th of March 2020. It was a subtle release due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The company was initially reportedly planning to hold an event to show a slew of devices.

The new MacBook Air starts at $999 – a $100 cheaper than the previous generation. However, the company now packs a lower powered i3 processor whereas the previous generation models used only i5 processors and started at $1099. Nonetheless, you can still opt for Core i5 or Core i7 models by spending a little more.

Also, the Core i3 model is not slow compared to the base model of the previous generation. Apple is using the 10th generation Intel i series processor and the i3 processor while being a dual-core is pretty good for basic tasks like web browsing, streaming movies & TV shows, light photo and video editing.

The more expensive Core i5 model which costs $1299 packs double the storage as well – 512GB over the standard $999 model’s 256GB. The RAM can also be customized and this time Apple is using the fast 3733 MHz memory which will help improve the performance.

The display of the MacBook Air is unchanged – it’s good in terms of display quality and resolution, however the peak brightness is just not enough. Also, the webcam is the same 720p which Apple has been using for years now. On a positive note though, Apple has added new microphones and the audio quality is much better over the previous models.

So should you get the new MacBook Air? For basic web users, the $999 model will be good enough but I’d recommend that you spend the extra $200 and get the $1299 Core i5 model which also doubles the storage to future proof your laptop. However, if you are a Pro user, avoid getting the MacBook Air; look at the 16” MacBook Pro.